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Difficulty: Easy

4 hours over two days

About $50

If you're living with builder-grade slab-style doors, just think of them as so many blank canvases. You can mimic the look of a traditional panel door simply by applying frames of molding. It's an easy project with endless possibilities, since you can match the moldings to any existing ones and re-create the look of any panel style you like. Follow along as This Old House contributor Christopher Beidel, owner of Pernt, a handmade-furniture company in Brooklyn, New York, leads us through the simple steps of adding character to a plain door.

Tools List

Flathead screwdriver

Phillips-head screwdriver

Combination square

Framing square

Miter saw

Clamps

Pneumatic nail gun

Rounded chisel

Mallet

Shopping List

Close

1⅛-by-1¾-inch poplar nose-and-cove molding Get four 8-footers.

18-gauge 1-inch nails for pneumatic nail gun

Wood glue

Wood putty

120-grit sandpaper

Latex primer and paint

New lockset (optional)

Note on proportions: A typical interior four-panel door has three equivalent stiles with a matching top rail and a deeper base rail. Mock up simple patterns cut from cardboard to see what size panels will look best on your door.